Brand-new goat owner, large abcess issues, please help!!

[Stormimay]

I knew I wanted a brush goat some day; I just wasn't expecting one so soon. I went to a friend's farm to pick up some chicken tractors and they had a goat they were planning on putting down that weekend. So now I have a goat. We got him May 17th, and at that time he had a large, and I mean softball sized, abscess on his neck. My friend told me it was an injury abscess, that it was fairly new-ish, and that it most definitely wasn't CL. She said I could just wait till it burst and then clean it and it would be fine.

We've had the goat a week now and it burst today. I guess I was expecting it to deflate? Now he has a large jutting hollow spot in his neck with a black skin flap and flies all around. This can't be okay. He doesn't seem to be in any pain and doesn't have a fever. I washed it and him with clean water and poured alcohol liberally over it, but it is too big for me to bandage with anything I can think of and he won't leave anything I put on it alone. It is about the size of my palm and sticks out at least 3 finger widths. I am clueless as to what to do. Do I have to call a vet or is there something I can do myself? Thanks.

 

[Goatherd]

Welcome to the world of goats. While I do not know your friend, I take no one's word when they adamantly say that a lump or abscess isn't CL. Unless the goat was tested and there are current lab results on paper to prove negativity, there is always a chance that the lump was more than an injury abscess.

That being said, since you are new to goats, ideally a vet would be the best course to take. If that is not possible, clean the wound and pack it liberally with triple antibiotic ointment in order to expedite the healing and help keep flies away. Stop with the alcohol and if you choose to disinfect the wound you could use iodine. A good product to help clean and heal is Vetericyn Wound and Skin Care. It's pricey, but does a great job.
If it was me, I would also start the goat on a course of antibiotic (LA 200) to ward off infection since the wound is so large and open. Keep in mind when you're treating goats, most products that you will use will be used off label since most products are not tested exclusively on goats.

If this seems more than you can handle since you are new to this, then a vet visit would be in order.

One final thing...if you are planning on keeping this goat, you should look into getting him/her a companion goat as goats are herd animals and they truly need a buddy of their own species to keep them healthy and content.

Good luck.

 

[Stormimay]

Thank you! That sounds do-able. I already have antibiotic ointment and iodine; I'll get that LA-200 tonight. The goat lived without another goat for two years, just chickens, dogs, and a cow. I was hoping my kids and dog and chickens would keep him happy, but he does seem lonely. Another friend has a goat she doesn't want anymore, maybe I can convince her to let us have him.

 

[babsbag]

And I would get some fly spray. I use Catron IV spray as you can use it on open wounds. Hope he heals up for you.

 

[SheepGirl]

X2 on fly spray... something labeled for screwworms so he doesn't get flystrike.

 

[goatboy1973]

Welcome to the world of goats. While I do not know your friend, I take no one's word when they adamantly say that a lump or abscess isn't CL. Unless the goat was tested and there are current lab results on paper to prove negativity, there is always a chance that the lump was more than an injury abscess.

That being said, since you are new to goats, ideally a vet would be the best course to take. If that is not possible, clean the wound and pack it liberally with triple antibiotic ointment in order to expedite the healing and help keep flies away. Stop with the alcohol and if you choose to disinfect the wound you could use iodine. A good product to help clean and heal is Vetericyn Wound and Skin Care. It's pricey, but does a great job.
If it was me, I would also start the goat on a course of antibiotic (LA 200) to ward off infection since the wound is so large and open. Keep in mind when you're treating goats, most products that you will use will be used off label since most products are not tested exclusively on goats.

If this seems more than you can handle since you are new to this, then a vet visit would be in order.

One final thing...if you are planning on keeping this goat, you should look into getting him/her a companion goat as goats are herd animals and they truly need a buddy of their own species to keep them healthy and content.

Good luck.

Partially agree with Goatherd. I will add that you absolutely should wear exam gloves when dressing or touching this wound because may be a zoonotic pathogen ( can be spread to humans). Wish I lived close enough to you and I would take care of the wound-care for you. Years ago, I was a Vet Tech and did my fair share of wound-care. In 1999, I went into human medicine, and became a Wound-Care Nurse/ EMT at our local maximum security county jail. Unless you have done extensive woundcare prior to this, (and this sounds fairly extensive) it might be a good idea to let the vet tackle this one because if not done right, the situation could be made worse. I will disagree on one item Goatherd said about liberal use of the antibiotic ointment. Antibiotic ointment is for superficial wounds like small cuts and scrapes only, never to be used on massive wounds. The petroleum jelly in the antibiotic ointment will actually impede the healing process. It is far better to keep gauze soaked in sterile H2O on the wound and keeping the whole thing covered with sterile dressings until it starts to heal good. LA 200 is a wonderful antibiotic but Bactrim DS 800/ 160 mg is the antibiotic of choice for large soft tissue wounds such as this. The Bactrim is only by Rx though, just another reason to get the vet involved. Hope all turns out well for goat and owner.